Proof to Belong
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: "Do I need to prove myself or something? I belong here as much as anyone else does! Only three people on this team have any prior experience, but yet I'm the only one without experience that's getting picked on. Why can't you guys accept me?"


**A/N: So this was just a little thought. Expounding on the idea that was produced in "Not a Replacement". Really, something about Artemis being Roy's replacement can really strike me as a good story idea…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or any associated characters.**

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><p><strong><span>Proof to Belong<span>**

"This place is so boring," complained Robin for about the billionth time in the past hour. He was laying on the couch with his back where his butt was supposed to be and his butt where his back was supposed to be. His head was hanging down over the edge, and the blood rushed to his head as his feet rested up on the back of the cushion where his head was supposed to be. "I wish Speedy were here. It would make this gig so much better."

No, Artemis wasn't bothered by this. No, she wasn't annoyed. She had grown numb to all those subtle emotions. At this point, her anger at hearing about what Speedy or Roy or Red Arrow did had hit the boiling point. She really was about ready to explode. Every time his name was exchanged between the young team's other members, she almost always had to suppress the eruption of rage that accompanied the title of her mentor's old apprentice.

Why wasn't she good enough for them? Why couldn't she please them? When they had been getting their butts handed to them by Amazo, she was the one who had saved Kid Flash's hide. It was her, not Roy, not Speedy, not Red Arrow. It was Artemis. And who was on the team? Well, there was only one archer and she wore green, not red. She wasn't Speedy. She wasn't Red Arrow. She wasn't Roy Harper. She was Artemis. She was her own person, and she wasn't about to conform to the mold that everyone was trying to shape her into.

"Am I not good enough?" she asked after bolting into a standing stance, glaring at the Boy Wonder who was now trying to touch his toes in his awkward position on the couch. The blonde archer had slammed her book, "Oedipus Rex", closed and stood up abruptly; those deep blue eyes of hers were sending daggers in the direction of the Dark Knight's protege. "What is so wrong with me?"

Robin's head turned, a questioning black brow being raised in the direction of the team's sole archer. "What are you talking about?"

Wally was the only other one in the room. He was suddenly afraid to be the one between the thirteen-year-old and the blonde. "Okay, woah, guys, let's not start chopping heads off or anything." He was worried about having to break it up if Artemis got especially hostile. She did have the kind of temper that flared dangerously.

The girl's icy glare then found the redhead. "Don't think that you don't do it too!" raged the girl. "You both complain about Speedy not being around! You both want him here so badly you can taste it! Is there something wrong with me?" Artemis's azure gaze kept flickering between the two boys who sat on the couch.

"Artemis, what are you talking about?" asked Robin again, twisting his body in ways that it should not have been twisted (his flexibility really _was _astounding) and ended up with his lower body still the same way it was before, but his upper body had twisted so that he was up on his elbows. "Have you lost your marbles or something?"

"Am I not good enough for you guys?" Her eyes were alight with the flames of anger that coursed through her system. Her boiling point had been reached at last and all the pent up rage was finally being released in a wave of aggression directed at the two teenage boys who just so happened to be her victims. "I know you don't like the fact that I'm here and Speedy isn't, but do you really hate me that much?" There was fury and rage in her usually reserved features, but mixed amongst those emotions were also disappointment and pain. Artemis wasn't just angry with them. Part of her was upset with herself for not being good enough for this team.

She belonged there just as much as anyone else. She had willingly joined, coming to help them out. And had Speedy been there to help when they needed it? Was Speedy there to watch their backs? Was Speedy joining the team? No. Roy was being completely useless to these two boys. He should've meant nothing to them. Sure, friendship's important, but saving their lives trumps that by a long shot. Artemis didn't know how tightly the boys had bonded themselves, but didn't these two have open minds to making new friends?

"We don't hate you," insisted Robin sincerely, now shifting and twisting his body at more awkward angles until he was sitting upright like the West boy beside him was.

"No way! We don't ha-" The ginger couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Well no one around here seems to want me. Megan's the only one, and her vote doesn't count when it really comes down to it." The girl's glare probably would've terrified Batman if Batman had been capable of fear. Artemis was completely feral, ready to snap at any second. "Do I need to prove myself or something? I belong here as much as anyone else does! Only three people on this team have any prior experience, but yet I'm the only one without experience that's getting picked on. Why can't you guys accept me?"

"Artemis," said Wally, trying to reassure her so she didn't put an arrow through his heart, "we do ac-"

"Then why do you want Speedy?" she spat. Venom laced her words. "Why don't you want me? Is it because I'm playing a role? Is it because you're waiting for a hero who won't come? Is it because I don't play Halo with you?" She threw her book down on the small brown table that sat before the couch, disgusted with the whole thing. "How am I so different?"

Neither of the two boys wanted to answer that. It was almost obvious. She had parts that Roy didn't and that threatened them. They had more peace of mind when they didn't have to worry about a deranged chick questioning their every move. Megan was obedient enough, and Superboy pulled his weight. Artemis was fine and dandy and all, but there was a certain role that she couldn't fill.

To both the Boy Wonder and Kid Flash, Red Arrow had been a big brother. Neither of them had truly had an older brother. Robin had found people in the circus to take care of him in that fashion and Wally had plenty of friends who accepted that role for him, but Roy was someone who would always treat them like kids no matter what the situation. He was family to them. They just didn't want to relinquish that dying hope that Roy might just come back to them.

Sure, Artemis treated them like kids. Sure, Artemis was growing to be like family. Sure, she was nice and all, but there was a place in the boys' hearts that she couldn't fill. She couldn't play the part of a brother. She was a girl; that fact kept blinding the two boys.

That, and she had had no right to take over his position. She hadn't had experience with Green Arrow before. Wally had questioned her name enough times to piss off even Kaldur'ahm, who was usually a challenge for the ginger. She was a newbie to the world of justice and that was another thing that threatened the two teens. They wanted to know who they were dealing with before they got in over their heads with this new girl.

After the long silence Robin and Wally had given her, the archer had finally given up. She shook her head, one hand pressing calloused fingers to her temple; her cerulean orbs had fallen on the book she had thrown onto the table. "I just want to fit in around here, but I won't be molded to be someone I'm not, got that? I will never be Roy. I'm not going to turn into Speedy overnight. I'm a different person, okay? If I have to prove my place on this team, I will. I'm twice as good as him because I didn't walk away from this team." Her ocean-colored gaze found the two boys again. "If he was really your friend, he would've stayed around to keep an eye on you guys."

"He didn't want to take orders," defended Robin, trying to protect Roy's motives for leaving the team he had been offered a spot on. "He's an independent person." The Boy Wonder didn't want her to be right. But she was! If Speedy had ever really cared, wouldn't he have been watching their backs instead of letting Artemis do it for him? And wouldn't he have at least been checking in on them? Watching them? Calling? Something? A hole was suddenly being ripped into Robin's chest. Artemis was right.

Wally remained silent. He was still trying to fathom this whole concept.

"Or he didn't want to be babysitting you two anymore." Artemis snatched her book off the table and began to stalk off into the dark shadows of Mount Justice, planning on hiding away until a mission came up or until Green Arrow came to get her and pretend to take her to Star City when she would really just head to Gotham. "I'm here, he's not. No matter who you two want, you're stuck with me. Sorry that your precious Roy doesn't care enough to stick around and take care of you." All she had ever wanted was to belong to something. This was her chance, and she was burning all the bridges she had already built with her two teammates. She would have to prove that she belonged on this team, that she was better than Roy could ever be.

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><p><strong>AN: Turned out angstier than I planned… Review please.**

**~Sky**


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